By Jonathan Hernandez
There are many communities in the world known as “fandoms,” where people socialize with other individuals who share the same interests.
There are communities that talk about TV shows, such as The Simpsons or Game of Thrones; movies, such as the good ol’ Star Trek vs. Star Wars and always rambling about who is better; franchises such as Disney and Nickelodeon; and even other types of media, like TV news enthusiasts and sports.
Let’s also not forget about people who are in music-related communities and love to talk about their favorite artists — whether it’s Billie Eilish, Shawn Mendes, Cardi B, 5 Seconds of Summer or, as of recently, any Korean pop group – in which people “stan” their favorite guy or girl from groups such as BTS, Blackpink, EXO or Monsta X.
All of these fandoms talk about interests they love, but out of all the fandoms, there is one that is flexible and diverse — one that I resonated with the most.
That community is none other than those adorable and joyful-looking people otherwise known as furries.
If you’re a first-year student, you might remember when people were asked to draw their “spirit animal” during orientation. Well, I was ahead of the curve because I saw myself as a flamingo.
But it was more than just a “spirit animal.”
It was my fursona, or in this case, my birdsona. A fursona is basically how someone sees themselves as an animal — in most cases an anthropomorphic one — whether they draw their fursona or dress up in a fursuit.
Many people assume furries just consist of people who see themselves as foxes or wolves. And while there are many furries who consider themselves as such, that is far from the whole picture. Some furries might be cats, ferrets, badgers, kangaroos, deer, birds or even dragons. There is another aspect of furries that many people get misconstrued.
Many people outside of the furry fandom think furries are toxic and lewd. Let me remind you that furries aren’t just about text emoticons like “owos” and “uwus.” In fact, some furries want to make wholesome content for people to enjoy. Many furries who enjoy making others happy don’t make content that is considered not safe for work. If they do, they keep it separate from their safe-for-work content and are strict about it for obvious reasons.
Another generalization is that furries are toxic and dramatic, which puts the focus on the bad apples of the fandom and is not representative of furries overall. In fact, furries are a welcoming community, and the majority of them have taken measures to weed out those who only want to spread toxicity in the fandom. There are also many furries who have gained a significant following, such as Majira Strawberry, BetaEtaDelota and Adler the Eagle.
Furries are normal people like everyone else who just so happen to be in a community with a strong interest in creatively expressing themselves by being a fluffy animal, and I’m happy to be a part of it.
